1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to axle-hub assemblies for automotive vehicles, and particularly to a hub-axle assembly having improved means for lubrication.
2. General Description of the Prior Art
Many hub-axle assemblies for automotive vehicles, particularly those employed on towed vehicles, are constructed along rather standard lines, and wherein a stationary axle supports a pair of spaced bearings, which in turn support a hub. A conventional grease seal provides an essentially air-tight seal at the rear of the assembly, and a dust or grease cap encloses the front of the assembly. Typically, lubrication is effected by applying grease to a grease fitting in the dust cap. This system works reasonably well for most applications, but for boat trailers where hub-axle assemblies are frequently immersed, bearing failures have been all too numerous. Typically, when this has occurred, complaints by trailer owners to trailer manufacturers were relayed to hub-axle manufacturers, who would simply reply that there obviously had been a failure by the boat trailer owner to effect regular lubrication. However, as the complaints became more numerous, trailer manufacturers began to doubt this, and being caught in the middle, they commenced insisting on some system of correction of the problem by hub-axle manufacturers. As a hub-axle manufacturer, the inventor in this case determined to do something about the problem, and accordingly, its solution became the object of this invention.